Lifestyle

The Pheasant Inn, West Berkshire: a cosy pub with rooms just outside of London



Country escapes don’t come much easier for Londoners than The Pheasant Inn. Just past Reading, and 30 seconds off the M4, depending on traffic, you can be sipping a pint of Pheasant Ale by the roaring fire in an hour and a half. 

The addition, last year, of the low-beamed, cosy private dining room with the most comfortable navy Chesterfield chairs — created by interior designer Octavia Dickinson — means the inn is buzzing every weekend. The Friday night we arrived a boisterous shooting party was settling in, while locals of all ages gossiped at the bar. Overseeing proceedings is charming owner-landlord Jack Greenall (and his friendly black Labrador, Isla). Jack bought the pub four years ago and, after a top-to-bottom refurb, business is booming. It’s worth a trip for the food alone. 

Head chef Andy Watts has created an enticing menu of British favourites. Over two nights we feasted on moreish Marlborough mushroom Wellington, pan-roasted stone bass with saffron potatoes, steamed mussels and buttered samphire,and a classic, but beautifully done, chicken Kiev with triple-cooked skin-on chips, wilted spinach and burnt onion ketchup. The pudding menu is drool-worthy. But do you pick the white chocolate and Baileys croissant pudding with honeycomb ice-cream or the apple and winter berry crumble? We shared (fought over, really) one of the specials: the peanut butter melt-in-the-middle fondant. 


The drinks list is excellent, with local ales, extensive spirits and a thoughtfully crafted wine list. Plus the prices are a nice reminder that outside of London, things don’t cost quite as much — £6.50 for a starter, with mains starting at £14. There’s also a vegan menu, on request. 

One of the rooms at The Pheasant Inn (The Pheasant Inn)

Though you could just eat and dash, it’d be foolish not to crawl upstairs and into one of the Egyptian cotton-covered beds. There are 11 rooms, all designed by decorator to the rich and fabulous Flora Soames. Tucked far away enough from the hubbub of the pub to be peaceful, each room features a statement headboard, handpicked artwork, Bamford toiletries and Roberts DAB radios.

Once you do make it downstairs, help yourself to the continental breakfast buffet of juices, pastries, fruit, yoghurts and homemade granola (including Belgian chocolate, my favourite). Or choose one of the hot options from the menu. The veggie full English was spot-on. 

Fuelled up and ready to explore, head to Highclere Castle, the setting for ITV’s Downton Abbey, which opens to visitors again in the spring (check the website for specific days highclerecastle.co.uk); or breathe in a lungful of lovely fresh air and take in panoramic views on a walk across the North Wessex Downs, then pop into Hungerford for a stroll along the canal, or pick up a collectable or two at one of the town’s famous antique shops.

Details

Doubles from £95. The Pheasant Inn runs a Settle in Sundays offer, spend more than £100 in the restaurant and have a room for free.

Ermin Street, Shefford Woodlands, Hungerford, Berkshire RG17 7AA; thepheasant-inn.co.uk



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